SUMMARY
As Covid-19 alters the everyday interactions with public and commercial spaces, opportunities have opened up for solutions catering to the new normal
From facial recognition-based attendance, thermal scanners to proximity trackers, businesses have turned to tech to keep workplaces safe
Startups such as Zenatix, Qonch, Smarten Spaces are catering to the businesses going back to the office
The coronavirus has changed the definition and the perception of safe workplaces. From creating a conducive atmosphere to boost productivity, businesses have had to look at social distancing, sanitation measures. As our interactions with the world are permanently altered, anything that fulfills the demand for low-touch interactions, health, and safety measures is thriving. In the words of a New York-based strategy and business design firm, the Board of Innovation, we are living in the ‘low touch economy’.
And in this new reality, products like foot-operated door openers, WhatsApp message-powered elevators, pedal-activated sanitiser dispensers, and face shields have become the new essentials. This has also had an effect on our offices, wherein a range of new products and services have been built to ensure socially distant functioning in this post-covid era.
The list includes solutions such as facial recognition technology for employee attendance, touch-free temperature checks, mask detection, sanitisation tunnels and location tracking, among others. Here’s how startups are creating safe workplaces.
Launched by Hero Electronix to enable businesses resume safe operations in Covid-19, Zenatix has built a suite of IoT solutions including a biceps’ armband which takes real-time body temperature of employees (ZenSafe), contactless employee attendance monitoring solution (ZenMonitor), dashboard to control office building’s heating ventilation and air conditioning (ZenShield) and wireless battery powered on-the-go temperature and humidity monitoring system for workspace (ZenSense).
The Bengaluru-based startup, Agamin has built smart ID card holders called Qonch, which enables businesses to ensure that employees are abiding by the social distancing measures. Qonch card holders alert employees with vibration and beeps on breaking of safe social distancing measures. The product use-cases can be extended to keeping event logs, traceability, scheduling and roster management. Currently, the product is marketed at INR 1850, and is offered in different packages to fit the needs of both SMBs and large enterprises.
Developed by Smarten Spaces, Jumpree Worksafe enables mapping of employee’s complete journey at work through a 10-step process which includes pre-screening for travel and health, tracking every entry and exit along with temperature readings. It also enables office administration to keep a track of when each room or section was cleaned and notifies the right personnel about cleaning tasks. Employees can also book meeting rooms and check-in to the system using their tablets or QR Codes or BLE Beacons. Further, for the management of community spaces such as the cafeteria, it offers live camera feed to all employees so that they know how crowded the location is at any given time, among other features. On average, Jumpree WorkSafe monthly costs range between $1K – $5K per building.
VAMS Global, a visitor management system, has come up with VAMS SafeGuard which has the ability to scan body temperature and record visitors, check for face-mask compliance. The embedded face and palm recognition sensors provide 100% handsfree user authentication, which uses AI to allow entry of only those employees as well as visitors that comply with all Covid-19 protection measures. The VAMS SafeGuard’s cost lies in the range of INR 80,000 to INR 1 lakh.
The Delhi-based startup has built two solutions for startups returning to office including wall-mounted automatic infrared thermometer, automated sanitiser dispenser and sanitisation gun. The infrared thermometer is a non-contact body temperature equipment which reads the body temperature of any individual standing in front of it. On the other hand, the automated sanitiser dispenser uses a motion sensor to detect the presence of hands under the nozzle and dispenses just the right amount of sanitizer. The price range for these products varies between INR 4,999 to INR 14,999.
Launched by technology-enabled interior design company Flipspaces, REBOOTSPACES offers integration of Covid-safety technology within the existing infrastructure in a building or company. Its services include isolators and separation panels around all seating areas, automated washrooms, sliding doors, proximity tracking, visual reminders on the floor for social distancing, thermal camera-based temperature checks, and attendance marking through face recognition, among other features. The company pricing range from INR 12K for touchless automation products, to INR 15K in case of hygiene and sanitisation.
An AI chatbot that enables symptom checks among of employees based on age, gender and symptoms, Stethoscope.ai is looking to make the COVID-19 screening process efficient. The collected data is then assessed based on a statistical model created from historical data available since early February from WHO, CDC and MoHFW. Detailed analytics dashboard with alerts, notifications and visualizations, are said to help businesses to monitor the health index and reduce healthcare and insurance costs.
The product has two models of pricing based on the employee strength of the organization — subscription and transaction-based model. According to Stethoscope.ai CEO Roshan Khan, the overall cost of the product varies based on the number of employees and the volume of assessment requests.
Advantage Club company’s core proposition is offering corporate benefits to employees for various purposes and objectives, ranging from employee engagement to compensation. Its Fight-Covid programme is aimed to ensure the safety of employees by enabling installation of sanitization chambers, workplace fumigation, COVID tests for employees, discounts on various wellness and delivery providers, procuring PPE kits, and free online doctor consultation for the employees. The company has also launched a Covid-19 insurance plan through which organizations can help their employees specifically for the coronavirus pandemic.
